Solar electric panels installed to power the world's first known solar-powered plug-in hybrid SUV

With record snowfalls in Crested Butte, it has not been easy, but yesterday the solar electric panels donated by Evergreen/AEE Solar and a SMA Inverter donated by Sunsense were installed by Nunutak Alternative Energy Solutions in a ground breaking effort to power the first known PHEV SUV with solar electric power.

In January the Ford Escape hybrid vehicle was converted by Hybrid's Plus to a plug in hybrid/electric vehicle, enabling it to get over 100 miles to the gallon. Now the vehicle will be powered by Gunnison County Electric Association's (GCEA) net-metering grid-tied solar. Plans for a Vehicle to Grid (V2G) conversion are in the works for display at the Democratic National Convention and in Washington, DC.

Special thanks to KEEN, carbonfootprint.com, BRUNTON, Osprey, Smartwool, Clif Bar, CalCars.org, Sunsense Solar, Evergreen Solar, Nunutak, The Office for Resource Efficiency (ORE), the Save Our Snow Foundation, and GCEA. - Alison Gannett - http://www.alisongannett.com